Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Chester A. Bower Diary, 1915-1918
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Bower, Chester A., 1892-1919
- Title
- Chester A. Bower Diary
- Dates
- 1915-191819151918
- Quantity
- 1 folders
- Collection Number
- Collection 0451, MtBC, us (collection)
- Summary
- The Chester A. Bower diary is a photocopy of the original volume, as well as a typed transcription of the diary. The diary contains brief one or two sentence summaries of his daily life from January 1, 1915 until July 5, 1918 when he began his military service in Virginia. Activities such as household chores, cooking, washing, hunting, fishing, irrigating, haying, livestock care, and wood cutting are recorded, along with social interactions with neighbors and cooperative work exchanges with them. Bower also records some local news and reactions to reports of the European war.
- Repository
-
Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
- Access Restrictions
-
This collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Chester A. Bower was born in 1892 on his family's farm in Madison County near Jeffers, Montana. He attended local schools and worked in a variety of agricultural jobs. An enthusiastic hunter and fisherman, Bower also filed for his own homestead claim before the outbreak of World War I. Bower was rejected by the U.S. Marines on his first attempt to enlist due to an undisclosed physical disability, but he was later accepted by the U.S. Army and placed into the 9th Hospital, Veterinary Corps, organized at Camp Lee, Virginia in 1918. Bower was then sent to France where he died of illness in March 1919.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Chester A. Bower diary is a photocopy of the original volume containing brief one or two sentence summaries of his daily life from January 1, 1915 until July 5, 1918 when he began his military service in Virginia. Activities such as hunting, fishing, irrigating, haying, livestock care, and wood cutting are recorded, along with social interactions with neighbors and cooperative work exchanges with them. Bower's entries include mention of his performance of household chores such as cooking and washing. Bower also records some local news and reactions to reports of the European war. A typed transcription of the diary, prepared by MSU library personnel, is also included.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
An original diary kept by Chester A. Bowen of Ennis, Montana was loaned to Montana State University for photocopying and transcription by Chester B. Schendel, Three Forks, Montana on September 6, 1966. After duplication and transcription, the original was returned and its present location is unknown.
Processing Note
This collection was processed 2011 October 10
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Community life -- Montana -- Madison County
- Farm life -- Montana -- Madison County
- Fishing -- Montana -- Madison County
- Hunting -- Montana -- Madison County
- World War, 1914-1918
Personal Names
- Bower, Chester A., 1892-1919 -- Diaries
Geographical Names
- Madison County (Mont.) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century
Form or Genre Terms
- Diaries -- Montana -- Madison County
Kim Allen Scott, 2011
July 31, 2015
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
